Track game with single rail



July 14, 1953 E. FIELDS 5,

TRACK GAME WITH SINGLE RAIL Filed June 14. 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l y V ENTOR.

Ate/V1557 P754175 July 14, 1953 E. FIELDS TRACK GAME WITH SINGLE RAIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14, 1949 IN V EN TOR.

47/1 45 BYZ T Patented July 14, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Ernest JFields, New York,.N. .1.

Application June 14, 1949, Serial No. 99,005

This invention relates to toy track games, particularly to toy track games in which a motor driven vehicle is caused to travel along atrack system.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a track system of the general type, above referred to, which offers a novel and surprising play eiTect. 7

Another object of the invention a single rail track system laid out with curves and slanted sections of varying steepness in the manner of a coaster layout. I

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be pointed out hereinafter and set forth in the appendedclaims forming part of the application.

In the accompanying drawing a now preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawings: 1

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a toy track game according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of'the track system.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a vehicle suitably de-- signed for the game according to the invention, the vehicle being shown supported on the track rail.

Fig. 4 is a front view of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a similar front view, the'vehicle body being removed, and

Fig. 6 is a sectional side view of Fig. 5 .talren on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring now to the figures in detail, the toy track game, as illustrated, comprises a rail system generally designated by ID and one or more vehicles, generally designated by H', of the type shown on Figs. 3 to 6.

The rail system employed according to themvention consists of a single rail, the vehicle supporting surface of which is vertically elevated relative to a base. The layout of the single rail may take any desired shape, that is the rail may form an open or endless track, it may be curved or straight, and it may be level or include slanted sections. The running surface of the rail may be formed by one edge of a strip, or a rail of conventional design may be supported by, a suitable frame. It is only essential that a single rail is provided elevated above a base.

According to the exemplification of the rail system shown on Figs. 1 and 2, the single rail is formed by a strip l2 of comparatively rigid material such as sheet metal. This strip rests with one longitudinal edge on a suitable base, the opposite edge forming the vehicle supporting sur- 3 Claims. (Cl. 10463) is to provide 7 forming gates l3, l4 and I5, are provided. As

face of the rail system. As will be noted, the plane of the strip is substantially vertical relative to the base. It will further be noted that the vertical height of the strip is varying thereby forming a rail system including declining and inclining sections of different steepness.

Strip 12 is bent to form an endless rail system in which certain sections of the system cross each other. To permit such crossings suitably positioned and shaped openings in the strip,

can bestbe seen on Fig. '1, these gates form passageways for low level rail sections.

A suitable, for instance, substantially triangularly shaped base plate i6 secured to strip [2 may be provided. As willbe apparent, this plate which may be placed on a table stabilizes the rail system on its base, and also secures bymeans of flanges I! the various rail sections in their respective relative positions.

- Layout and general arrangement of the .illus-' trated rail system are somewhat similar to the layouts generally used for coaster tracks. .However, 'as previously mentioned, the invention is not limited to such an arrangement.

Referring now to vehicle I l, the configuration of the vehicle body may take any desired shape.

The shape of a car, a plane or an animal or human'body may be selected. In the illustrated embodiment of the vehicle the same is shown as a streamlined car with stabilizers l8 and I9 and exhaust pipes 20. v

The vehicle'body 2|, houses amotor generally designated by 22. The motor is shown as a'spring actuated movement of conventional general design. However, any other suitable type of motor can also be employed, such as an electrical motor. The vehicle is equipped with a single front wheel 23 and a single rear wheel 24. The two wheels are disposed in alignment and preferably concealed within the vehicle body by being mounted within a longitudinal recess 25 in the bottom of the vehicle body. This recess is formedand defined by two lateral depending portions 26 and 21 respectively, of the vehicle body as can best 32 on wheel axle 30, a gear 33, a pinion 34,'a gear- 35, a pinion 36, and a gear31 on drive shaft 31.

Shaft 3| is rotated in a conventional manner by means of a spiral spring .38 which is secured at its inner end to the shaft and at its outer end at 39 to a suitable part of a motor housing 40. The spring can be wound by means of a key fitted upon a square winding stem 4| accessible through an opening 42 in the vehicle body.

Since the vehicle is designed to run on a single rail, it is desirable to lower the center of gravity of the vehicle as much as possible for balancing the vehicle on the rail. In other Words, the upper part of the vehicle, that is, the part above the level of the wheel axles 30 or at least above the level of the wheel rims, should be comparatively light relative to the lower part of the vehicle. For this purpose, the depending portions 26 and 21 of the vehicle body are weighted, either by providing weights mounted in these depending portions or by disposing parts of the motor in body portions 26 and 21. As can be clearly seen on Figs. 4, and 6, part of the spring, of the gear train, and of motor housing 40 are extended below the level of the rims of the wheels, thereby lowering the center of gravity of the vehicle.

As can further be seen from the aforementioned figures, rail [2 extends into the interior of the vehicle body when the vehicle is supported on the rail. As a result, the inner side walls of the depending motor housing portions will prevent a tumbling ofa vehicle off the rail, particularly whilethe vehicle is in motion. However, it has been found that, to attain a smooth running of the vehicle, further stabilizing or guiding means are advisable. Such means are shown as a pair of rollers 45 and 46 rotatably mounted in a plane transverse to the plane of rail l2 and wheels 23 and 24. As can be seen on the drawings, these rollers face each other and are separated by a gap somewhat wider than the thickness of rail I2 thereby safely guiding the rail between them. The rollers are secured to the motor housing or the vehicle body by any suitable means such as brackets 41 and 48. Cowlings 49 and 50 extending from the vehicle body serve to conceal the rollers.

For the purpose of stopping the motor when desired, suitable stop means are provided shown as a gear 51 secured to a suitable shaft of the motor, such as drive shaft 31. Gear 5| is engaged by a pinion 52 supported on the motor housing by means of a shaft 53. This shaft also supports, fixed thereon, a disc 54 having a flattened outline portion 55. Pinion 52 and disc 54 can rotate freely when the motor is running and gear 5| is rotating. For stopping the motor, a two-arm lever 56 is provided pivoted to the motor housing. One arm of the lever ends in a nose 5! while the other armof the lever protrudes from the top of the vehicle body through a slot 58.

As can best be seen on Fig. 6, nose 5'! is out of engagement with the flattened disc portion 55 when lever 56 is in its left hand position, thereby releasing the motor for rotation. In the right hand position of lever 56, nose 5'! is pressed against disc portion 55, thereby arresting pinion 52, gear 5! and, hence, the entire motor.

Lever 55 may be so arranged that it is substantially flush with the rooftop of the vehicle in its release position and protrudes from the roof in its stopping position or, as shown as Fig. 6, the lever may protrude from the roof in both positions. This latter arrangement may be used to stop the vehicle automatically when reaching a selected position on the track. For this purpose, a corresponding outline portion of one or more 4 of the gates may extend into the path of lever 56 thereby forcing the said lever from its release position into the stop position while the other gates permit free passage of a vehicle.

The operation of the game will be obvious from the previous description. It suffices to say that the vehicle, after winding the motor, is placed upon the rail, for instance in the position shown in Fig. 1. When the motor is now released, the vehicle will travel along the track keeping perfect balance by reason of its previously described design. The inclining and declining sections of the track will cause the vehicle to run faster or slower. These actions of the vehicle, in combination with the spectacle of a vehicle running sometimes on an upper level and sometimes on a lower level and passing through gates, present an amusing and interesting effect.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a certain now preferred example and embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

I claim:

1. In a toy track game, the combination of a single rail track comprising a comparatively rigid strip arranged to rest with one longitudinal edge on a base for support of the rail strip in a substantially vertical plane, the opposite edge of the strip being adapted to support and guide a vehicle, said rail strip varying in height relative to the base for forming slanted rail sections of varying steepness, said rail strip being bent to form an endless single rail track system including sections crossing each other at different levels, each rail section forming an upper level section having an opening therethrough constituting a gate for the respective lower level rail section, and of a motor driven vehicle traveling over the said lower lever rail section; said vehicle having a front wheel and a rear wheel adapted to support the vehicle upon said track rail for travel along the rail, one of said wheels being motor driven, and stop means for the vehicle motor, said stop means including an actuation lever protruding from the vehicle and arranged in one position to release said stop means and in another position to actuate the stop means for stopping the motor, one of said gates being shaped to cause the stop lever to engage an outline portion of the rail strip section defining the said gate for moving the lever from its release position into its stop position, thereby stopping the motor and automatically stopping the vehicle.

2. A toy track system for toy vehicles comprising a comparatively rigid strip arranged to rest with one longitudinal edge upon a base for supporting the strip in a substantially vertical plane on said base, the opposite longitudinal edge of the strip constituting a single rail for a toy vehicle, the said strip varying in height along its length so as to form successive slanted rail sections of varying steepness.

ii. A toy track system for toy vehicles comprising a comparatively rigid strip arranged to rest with one longitudinal edge upon a base for supporting the strip in a substantially vertical toy vehicle, the said strip varying in height along its length so as to form successive slanted rail sections of varying steepness and being curved 5 relative to a vertical plane in the form of an endless single track system including sections crossing each other at varying horizontal levels, each rail section forming the upper level of a crossing having an opening therethrough constituting a gate for the respective rail section forming the lower level of the crossing and for a vehicle travelling over the respective lower level rail section.

ERNEST FIELDS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Behr Jan. '7, 1896 Hubsch Dec. 30, 1902 Lacomme Jan. 21, 1908 Kelker Sept. 29, 1914 Carter June 8, 1937 Einfalt Jan. 4, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain July 7, 1910 

